Stupid, Gap Toothed Grins
by Justa Little Puppy
Summary: The blonde grinned, large and looking so stupid with his gapped teeth that Ace had to grin back.


**Puppy's Post It: Arf... I have no idea what I'm doing anymore D: I'm going through weird phases of writer's block, unrelated plot puppies, and just outright laziness. I have stories to tend to. A lot. And here I am, writing what I'm fairly sure is my 3rd one-shot this month (but with any luck it's actually my second and I'm simply losing track 8D)... **

**Ugh, arf, anyway, lemme stop lamenting about my out of whack muse and tell you a bit about this fic peeps! I wrote it sometime this morning, out of sheer boredom, so forgive me if you happen upon mistakes u.u Also, Sabo and Ace are like 5, so there's that to keep in mind if you think they're ooc (it's a headcanon of mine that Ace didn't completely decide he was a 'devil child' and wasn't indirectly told he shouldn't have been born until he was at the very least 7 :,3) And... Yeah. That's pretty much it, other than I've always wondered how Sabo and Ace first met! I hope you enjoy, and please review! I give reviewers dog biscuits! And sometimes cookies if I have some... Idek anymore QwQ**

**Disclaimer: I own many things; A slide whistle, some scissors, a really weird bed (seriously if you've ever slept on my bed you would think that too, which I doubt you have andifyouactuallyhavethenwhoareyou OnO"), and many more things. What I don't own is One Piece. And that makes me sad ;n;**

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"OI! STOP YOU DAMN BRAT!"

Yeah, because that always made him stop and wait for them to catch up. Ace snorted, clutched his stolen treasure tighter, and made a beeline for a wide pond. With any luck, the crocodiles would be awake by now.

Green nostrils poking out of the water was answer enough as the boy jumped onto a nearby rock, going from there to a hanging vine and swinging his legs. He wasn't very heavy, so he half wondered if he'd be able to push enough of his weight on the convenient vegetation to get himself across the water before he could be eaten. But then he thought fuck it, and that was that. There wasn't time for hesitation with those two idiots - they'd followed him all the way here, they _MUST_ be retards of the highest level - on his tail and _holyshitcrapdammit_thevinewasntlongenoughdamndamn_daaaamn_—

"HA! Look, stupid lil' runt's gonna fall, we can just wait till he does, swim in and grab the– EH?!" Eh was right, because the 'stupid lil' runt' had just managed to jump from the vine the rest of the way to shore. Which was, mind you, 10 feet away.

The small child tumbled on the ground a bit at the other side, lying still for just a moment to get his bearings. That'd hurt, that'd hurt _a lot,_ but it was cool at the same time because he honestly hadn't known he could do that. But it would be a good idea to stop being proud of himself and get up and run now, which he was doing, because his idiot pursuers had predictably waded into the water to go after him and would wake the crocs in 3, 2–

"GRRRRRRRRRAAAAAGH!"

Now. Ignoring the roars and frightened screams and fierce churning of water, Ace sped deeper into the forest. The bag of beli in his hand was held close to his chest as he stumbled, clambered and tore through the brush. He had one thing in mind for the money, and the more he thought about it the faster he–

...Something wasn't right. Coming to a panting stop under a large tree, Ace heightened his guard and looked all around him cautiously. He couldn't put his finger on it... But... Something just didn't feel right. Was he being followed? Watched? Followed and watched? Or maybe there was a trap up ahead. Or maybe he was already in the trap. ...Or maybe he was being para-... Parano? Was that how you said that word? He'd heard Dadan use it once... Para... Parani? Well, he was being something. And he got his answer when it suddenly fell on top of him.

"OW!"

"Heheh, sorry!"

"You don't sound sorry you– WHO ARE YOU?!"

"Ya don't need to know."

...Was this bastard grabbing at his money?

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING!? GET OFF ME!" In a fit of anger, Ace managed to flail until he rolled over and quickly stood up so as to tower over his attacker, who wore this ridiculous oversized hat and looked to be no more than his age. Described attacker was obviously startled by the sudden flip in positions, but recovered fast with a flash of a grin. Then the guy got up and fled to the tree he'd apparently come from. With Ace's money.

"Wha- STOP YOU DAMN JERK!" Wincing at how he'd actually just said that, the raven haired shimmed up the tree after the thief, much to the thief's surprise. Like hell he was gonna just let this guy run off like, like _he_ would!

Ace wasted no time tackling the boy once they were both up the tree before he could get any further, and the short chase quickly evolved into a petty wrestling match.

"Ack! Ah, you're pulling my hair!"

"Goohd! Nao leggo a' mai noze 'ou 'azz'ole!"

"But my hat's gonna fall! Bastard!"

"Dun' steal mai moneh den! AN' LEGGO A' MAI NOZE ALREDEH OW OW OW!"

"No! I hope I pull it off you– _OW!_ Owowowow, dammit!" That punch was gonna leave a serious bruise on his stomach.

"Hahah, ou'– AH!" Ace was definitely gonna get a black eye from that.

Several nose pullings and hair pullings and countless, countless punches later, Ace managed to slap the other boy hard enough to make him let go and grabbed his arms to pin him. There was a brief, heated glaring match between polished steel and shimmering ocean.

"..."

"..."

Then the lad with the hat started to grin. Ace thought he looked stupid, with his gapped tooth and bruising cheeks, and that was his only, only, _ONLY_ justification when he started to grin back. Only because he looked stupid.

"You're strong."

"You too, kinda." Ace's grin became a smirk as the boy beneath him pouted, and he sat back on his haunches to smooth back his forever and always tousled raven locks. Given the opportunity, the thief sat up slightly to pat down his own curly blondeness. Once they'd more or less properly groomed themselves, Ace reached out his hand.

"Gimme back my money or I'll beat you up again."

The child sweatdropped, but just laughed it off and handed the money back without a fight. "Alright, alright." He snickered as he stood, wobbling a bit but quickly getting his balance. There was a pause, of which both spent simply studying each other.

"My name is Sabo!" The blonde finally chirped, grinning widely.

"What're you doing here?" Ace asked curiously instead of introducing himself.

The Sabo person blinked, surprised and maybe a bit disappointed looking, but seemed to shrug it off. "Gettin' treasure. I'm a– an orphan, so I need a lot of money. I pick pocket from some guys, then I hide it here up in this tree!" The boy bent, picking up his hat that had fallen precariously on the thick tree branches' edge in the process, then pulled open a secret compartment on the wood. Inside was handful of coins and crumpled currency notes, and the boy tossed in two more gold pieces from his pocket. He straightened himself again and grinned at his companion.

"...Oh. I do that too. 'Cept I beat the people up, take the treasure, and hide it at this nasty old hag's place. M'gonna take your treasure too." Ace said matter of factory, picking his nose.

Sabo sweatdropped once more. _'M-maybe I shouldn't have showed him my secret stash...' _

"I-idiot! I'm not gonna just let you take it! ...Why do you even want treasure anyway?" The blonde barked, grumbling the last bit as he hunched protectively over his money. Ace blinked slightly at him. Honestly, he was surprised the other even cared to know. He grinned soon enough though and turned, towards the horizon, towards the ocean. Towards his future.

"I'm gonna be a pirate!"

Sabo's eyes widened.

"One day, I'm gonna sail outta this place, and I'm gonna be free!"

"...Really?"

"Think I'm lying?" Ace turned his head back to him sharply, putting on one of his darkest scowls.

"No... No, just, I'm gonna be a pirate too. I wanna," The blonde placed his hat back on his head and smiled a bit. "I wanna be free too. Free as a pirate. Freer than anyone. And when I do that, I wanna write a book all about it."

Ace blinked. Sabo stared. They simply looked at each other a moment again, both trying to read what the other was feeling.

"...Ace."

"Huh?"

"M' name. It's Ace."

"Oh. "

"So, you pick pocket people?"

"Yeah! It's really easy, and they normally don't realize it until I'm long gone."

"That's wussy."

"Eh?! Sh-Shut up!"

"It is! You should just beat them up and take the money so there's less of a chance you miss something!"

"Humph. I guess. I only do that though when they notice and try to come after me. Y'know, I was thinking of getting a weapon to take with me whenever I go out for treasure n' stuff, just in case."

"A weapon?" Ace raised an eyebrow, looking interested.

"Yeah! Something strong enough to do some serious damage while being light and simple enough to carry and replace if something happens to it!" Sabo's eyes glistened, looking excited.

"...You could always check the Gray Terminal. Know that place?" Ace suggested, tilting his head slightly.

"Course. I go there pretty much everyday. And it's probably loaded with stuff I could use for a weapon..." The blonde had a thoughtful look on his face as he made to slip past Ace to the tree's trunk and shimmy down. He paused once he reached it however, and glanced back. The raven haired child was watching him, silent and blank faced. But there was the undeniable question in his eyes.

"C'mon, don't just stand there. We gotta go get some weapons so we can get more treasure, don't we?"

The blonde grinned, large and looking so stupid with his gapped teeth that Ace had to grin back.

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**Puppy's Post It: Mer. Please forgive me if it's too much oocness; I feel like it's been forever since I've written One Piece stuff, even though it's been only been like a month u.u And I have sooo much I gotta do still. Reviews to reply too, stories to update like I've said, One Piece chapters to catch up on... Ughers. Everything is ughers -3- Arf arf! Reviews make the mean ughers go away though! Ughers cause things like depression. And, um, world hunger. And kill puppies and kittens. ._. SO REVIEW FOR THE PUPPIES AND KITTIES XO **


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